United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum
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It's one of Britain's top political jobs - and very well paid: The Speaker of the House of Commons earns more than £ 150,000 a year, the equivalent of more than € 174,000 - about the same as the British Prime Minister. The additional services are not to be despised:
- The speaker gets a sumptuous residence overlooking the River Thames under the world-famous bell tower "Big Ben" in Westminster Palace.
- The bedroom has a red-lined four-poster bed owned by the British royal family.
"This is more like a bed to watch," said John Bercow, the House of Commons spokesman, in 2012, the British BBC. He does not sleep in the bed, nor does he live in the residence. It is mainly used for official receptions - a better conference room.
The Speaker leaves the stage: John Bercow in a video portrait
THE MIRROR
His post and associated amenities will be available again from 4 November, after more than 10 years free again. For on that day Bercow will formally resign as a Member. On October 31, he will preside for the last time as spokesman for the debates in the lower house and lead them with his now legendary "Ordeeeeerrr" calls. Succession to the post, which has existed for more than 600 years, is open.
Theatrical style, dogged style
The speaker is something like the tamer of the British Parliament. He is committed to strict neutrality. In office, he lets his party membership rest. For example, John Bercow, a conservative, has repeatedly put the Tory government in its place - in favor of Parliament.
The son of a London taxi driver with Romanian roots has fought with great self-confidence - some say arrogance - especially for the rights of smaller parties and backbenches. Thus he drew the wrath of some governments and party leaders. But he also won the respect of many simple MPs. ("I'm a Marmite character you love - or hate": read the recent interview with John Bercow)
Bercow polarises: his theatrical style, the stinging way he lays the government's feet one by one on the way to Brexit, coworkers accuse him of being a choleric. In a speech in the spring of this year, the 56-year-old defended his actions as a service to parliament.
Nine possible successors - and lots of opinions
Five men and four women have previously applied for the post - and in recent weeks have all distanced themselves from Bercow. Some careful, others very offensive:
- "I'm fair, I'm neutral," said Lindsay Hoyle, a Labor MP. He is one of three Deputy Speaker of the lower house and is considered a favorite for the post.
- Eleanor Laing, a Conservative MP and also a deputy spokeswoman, said that "apparently," Bercow said, "the parliamentarian's impartiality" has declined. In addition, she accused him of "macho posturing".
- Candidate Edward Leigh, a Tory MP, said Bercow "was not perceived as neutral by much of the nation."
- Shailesh Vara, also of the Conservatives, spoke even more sharply: He described the current lower house spokesman as "verbal playground tyrants".
- Chris Bryant of the Labor Party says he himself would be a referee, not an actor.
- Henry Bellingham, a member of the Conservatives, promised to visually break away: he wanted to put on the whole traditional speaker costume, including the long white wig and knickerbockers. The last lower house spokesman who stepped in front of Parliament was Bernard Weatherill, who was in office until 1992. Betty Boothroyd, Weatherhill's successor and the only spokeswoman to date, had renounced the wig, her successors as well.
- Labor politician Rosie Winterton, currently Berkow's third deputy, and Harriet Harman, also a Labor MP, proposed further limiting the spokesman's power.
- Meg Hiller, also a Labor politician, thanked Bercow for making Parliament "more accessible" to the public, but also said that she would not tolerate "bullying" in parliament as a spokeswoman.
What John Bercow wants to do after November 4 is unclear. Normally, lower house speakers retire after the end of their term. Because he was relatively young spokesman and is now only 56 years old, he had promised some time ago, only want to claim his special pension claim at 65.
He is then entitled to a special pension of the equivalent of half a million euros - in addition to his pension as a former member of parliament. This special pension for the most important political offices of Great Britain was abolished in 2015 - Bercows successor or successor will therefore no longer be entitled to it.